Swiss National Bank Buys 500 Shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR)

Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 67,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.20% of Banner worth $4,520,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Banner by 28.1% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,701,653 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,619,000 after buying an additional 373,037 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Banner by 12.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,785,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $106,334,000 after acquiring an additional 193,434 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Banner in the fourth quarter valued at about $10,023,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Banner by 395.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 166,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,894,000 after purchasing an additional 132,586 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Banner by 40.5% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 398,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,586,000 after purchasing an additional 114,731 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

Banner Stock Up 3.5 %

Shares of BANR stock opened at $66.02 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.53 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $67.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.95. Banner Co. has a one year low of $42.00 and a one year high of $78.05.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.11. Banner had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 10.03%. Analysts predict that Banner Co. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Banner Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. Banner’s payout ratio is 39.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of Banner in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Banner from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Banner from $69.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.20.

About Banner

Banner Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Banner Bank that engages in the provision of commercial banking and financial products and services to individuals, businesses, and public sector entities in the United States. It accepts various deposit instruments, including interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing checking accounts, money market deposit accounts, regular savings accounts, and certificates of deposit, as well as treasury management services and retirement savings plans.